Washington Insider

Conaway: Attach cotton, dairy to any must-pass bill
Congress should attach provisions to help cotton and dairy farmers to any must-pass bill before the farm bill comes up, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway, R-Texas, said Monday in a speech to the Crop Insurance Industry Annual Convention, according to The Hagstrom Report. Conaway said he had found a way to fix the cotton program in the farm bill, but that “dairymen need help now.” He said that Title 1, the commodity title of the farm bill, is “on hold until we see what we get on a must-pass bill.”

The Agriculture Department will attempt to follow the congressionally mandated schedule to create a plan for mandatory disclosure of genetically modified ingredients in food by July 2018, but companies will not be expected to comply at that time, the White House aide in charge of agriculture said today, according to The Hagstrom Report. Speaking to the North American Agricultural Journalists, Ray Starling, the White House aide in charge of agriculture, trade and food assistance, also noted that the Food and Drug Administration is engaged in revamping the standard nutrition facts label and is also interested in labeling for sodium and fiber, and that the Trump administration is having a conversation with the food industry about linking them all together in order to save the industry money.

Scott Gottlieb, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Food and Drug Administration commissioner, said last week he supports the Food Safety Modernization Act and is open to delaying the implementation of the new Nutrition Facts Label until it can be coordinated with the deadline for companies to disclose the presence of genetically modified ingredients in foods, according to The Hagstrom Report and Politico. Gottlieb made the statements at a confirmation hearing last Wednesday before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Trade is the biggest issue facing American agriculture, and the Senate Agriculture Committee has not yet received the paperwork from the White House so it can schedule a confirmation hearing for Sonny Perdue, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Agriculture secretary, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS), said today at a news conference prior to the committee’s first hearing on the next farm bill. Read more in an exclusive excerpt for members from today’s issue of The Hagstrom Report.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) said yesterday that efforts to complete the bill to reauthorize child nutrition programs have come to an end, according to an article in The Hagstrom Report. The bill affects all federal feeding programs, including school breakfast and lunch programs, and formally expired in Sept. 2015. “In the end, we were not able to reach a bipartisan, bicameral compromise,” said Roberts. “As chairman of the committee, I remain committed to continuing to look for ways to increase integrity within the program and to provide flexibility to local school and summer meal program operators.”

The Cook Political Report said this week it still believes that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will win the Electoral College in the presidential election, but it adjusted its ratings for five states toward Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and on Thursday adjusted two Senate ratings toward the Republican candidates.

The Senate adjourned on Sept. 29 without considering a bill to reauthorize the child nutrition programs for five years. The Senate Agriculture Committee has passed the bill unanimously, and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) and ranking member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) had hoped to convince members to allow the bill to pass by unanimous consent, according to The Hagstrom Report.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) and ranking member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) are asking all members of the Senate if they have any objections to moving the bill reauthorizing child nutrition programs forward, a person close to the situation has confirmed to The Hagstrom Report. Under this “hotline” process, Senate offices have an opportunity to comment on whether senators approve of the bill or have objections.

The Agriculture Department has already established an interagency working group to implement the law requiring labeling of genetically modified products that President Barack Obama signed last month, according to The Hagstrom Report. The process will require formal comment periods and promises to be complex.

As Congress begins its seven-week recess, legislators are heading back to their home states. Now is the ideal time for dairy companies to plan to host a tour at their processing facilities. IDFA is challenging member companies to host a federal legislator or legislative staff member during August for “Take Your Legislator to Work Month.”

The Roberts-Stabenow bill preempts state GMO labeling laws, including the one in Vermont that went into effect on July 1 and establishes a federal system of mandatory disclosure of genetically modified ingredients to be administered by the Agriculture Department’s Agricultural Marketing Service. Read more in an exclusive excerpt from The Hagstrom Report.

The Senate voted today to curtail debate on bipartisan legislation authored by Senators Pat Roberts (R-KS) (pictured) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) that would provide a national food disclosure standard for labeling foods made with genetically modified (GMO) ingredients. The procedural vote allows the Senate to limit debate on the bill to 30 hours, so the members may vote on the bill tomorrow or Friday.

IDFA commended Senators Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) for finalizing an agreement that would establish a national standard for GMO labeling. IDFA urged Congress to act quickly to pass the bill.

As the July 1 date that the Vermont law requiring the labeling of genetically modified foods comes closer, bits of information are leaking out about negotiations between Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Senate Agriculture ranking member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., for a federal labeling law to preempt the Vermont law, according to the Hagstrom Report.

The 34th Annual Capitol Hill Ice Cream Party will be held June 15, 4:00-6:00 p.m. in Upper Senate Park, which is adjacent to the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill. The Hill's "coolest" summertime tradition will dish up about 2,000 gallons of ice cream and frozen yogurt, 6,000 root beer floats and 44 cases of sundae toppings. Be sure to join us!